In the Federal High Court in Abuja, the Federal Inland Revenue Service
(FIRS) has filed charges of evading five years tax payment of N4.86
billion naira and forgery of Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) against Air
Nigeria. Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, the company’s Chairman, Mr Kinfe Kahssaye,
Managing Director and Air Nigeria Development Company Limited (formerly
Virgin Nigeria Airways Ltd), were joined in the 10-count charge.
The suit comes barely 48 hours after the service arrested Kahssaye in
Lagos on Monday. He was flown to Abuja same day and detained by the
service and released on Tuesday afternoon. An official of FIRS, who
confirmed his release to NAN, said the service met with Ibrahim on
Tuesday, but did not reach any agreement on the payment of the tax.
In the charge, FIRS accused officials of the indigenous airline of
illegally obtaining Tax Clearance Certificates. They were also said to
have unlawfully presented the fake certificate to the Minister of
Interior for the renewal of expatriate quota positions for 20 pilots and
10 other persons. According to the FIRS, the accused persons failed to
deduct and pay taxes accruing to government from Withholding Tax and
Value Added Tax (VAT) from 2007 to 2010, totaling N4.86 billion.
The charge said Air Nigeria and the accused persons failed to deduct at
source, N394.16 million being taxes accruing to government from
withholding tax between January and December 2006. Similarly, the
company was said to have failed to deduct withholding tax of N775.20
million being 10 per cent of the payments for direct services as
prescribed under the Companies Income Tax Act. The offence, according to
the court papers, is punishable under Section 40 of the Federal Inland
Revenue Service (Establishment) Act No 13 of 2007. The accused were also
said to have failed to file annual returns of the company for 2011 with
the FIRS, as prescribed by Section 55 (1) of the Companies Income Tax
Cap C21 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010.
The charge said the failure to file annual returns ``was with the
connivance of Ibrahim and Kahssaye; and you hereby committed an offence
punishable under Section 55(4) and (5) of the same Act.'' According to
the FIRS, some officials of Air Nigeria, sometime in January ``made
counterfeit of tax certificate, purportedly issued by the FIRS in favour
of Air Nigeria Development Company Ltd. ----------
Culled from NAN
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